Many people most especially beginners make a load of workout mistakes and end up not getting the best results they hoped for. The bad thing is that many don’t know they are making these mistakes. They are those few things you overlook but are hurting your workout quality. This is why you may workout every day and end up not getting results.
What are the biggest workout mistakes?
These are the common workout mistakes and their solutions;
1. Listening to the wrong advice.
Many people who start workouts go to the internet or magazines looking for tips, hacks, and advice to help them achieve either weight loss or muscle gain. Since the weight loss industry is so profitable, many people including those that aren’t qualified recommend exercises and also give people advice.
unfortunately, there are many fake, call it untrusted sources out there, and chances are high that you may be getting the wrong information about workouts.
Solution: Always get advice from a trusted source. If you are to use an app, choose that with good reviews and follow advice from websites that have proved themselves worthy in the industry
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Copying workouts.
Going to the gym and copying exactly what others are doing will not get you results. Although they might be experienced, you are not, and it won’t help you. Their muscles are used to exercises, and yours are not. They work with an aim and purpose, you aren’t.
In most cases, if you do this, you are most likely to lift heavy weights which will just spoil your posture, injure you, and might lead to muscle stagnation where you no longer gain muscles but rather just strength.
Solution: Get your own workout plan with reps and sets made by an experienced person in the weight loss and muscle gain industry.
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Skipping warm-ups
One of the biggest workout mistakes made is jumping straight to workouts without warm-ups. People who do this usually tire quickly, get injured, and never see desired results.
Warmups prepare the body for what’s coming, increase blood flow, and enhance physical activity. Skipping it increase the chances of muscle pulls and other injuries.
Solution: Always take about 10-15 minutes doing light exercises such as jumping jacks or stretching in order to get your body warmed up for workouts
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Focusing on quantity over quality.
No matter how heavy you lift, if you are doing the reps wrongly, you will never get desired results. Effective exercises are those which focus more on quality than quantity. With quality I mean when the reps are done right or workout done while targeting specific muscles and feeling every push and pull.
The same applies to the time invested in your workouts. What matters is how effective is the time you spent in the gym rather than how long you were there. People who are easily distracted during workouts never get results no matter how long they work.
A 15-minute workout free of distraction can deliver results compared to an hour of working out with a lot of distractions and long rests.
Solution: Aim at making every rep and set perfect other than trying to make many that aren’t perfect. Kick away the distractions, follow a well-researched workout plan, and give in all your best.
Do you think about what you eat before and after workouts? If not then you are among the people who will not get results from your workouts.
Some foods or supplements can enhance physical activity during workouts and some may sabotage your workout sessions. People usually don’t mind this and some make a bigger mistake of working out immediately after a meal.
The reason why people may have muscle soreness for longer, their post-workout diet may also be to blame. Since workouts are also dehydrating, what you drink or eat after exercise has a very big impact.
Solution: Make yourself a pre-workout and post-workout food plan to help you get the best out of your workouts. Pre-workout foods are those that give the body energy while postworkout foods are those that can decrease soreness and hydrate the body.
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Not following a plan.
If I can quote a proverb that goes “A rolling stone gathers no moss”, a person without a workout plan and moves from one equipment or workout to another can not achieve results. This normally happens because you get information from wrong sources or you lack a personal trainer.
Solution: Always have a plan with the number of sets and reps you are following either from an app, magazine, or website. This will save a lot of time and give you effective workouts.
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Getting distracted with the phone, Tv, or friend.
The biggest mistake people usually do is using time meant for a workout into social media time. They also use resting time after some reps to reply to messages and usually end up being distracted.
The phone may not be the only distraction but Tv and kids for those that do home workouts. Also working out with people of the opposite sex may be the source of distraction.
Solution: If the phone is the distraction, then leave it at home. Avoid using phones between sets or rest periods. If you are at home, turn off the Tv or lock yourself in a room if that helps to get away from distractions
8. Inconsistency
There is no work that can be done effectively and completed with inconsistency. The same applies to workouts. Working once or twice a week, doing incomplete reps, or jumping from a workout to another all imply inconsistency and never deliver results.
No matter how good your cardio workouts are, without consistency, there can never be good results. This is common with people who lack plan and commitment.
Solution: Consistency is the key and this means that workouts should be a priority. Set a workout plan throughout your week and keep up with it.
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Going easy on yourself.
A good workout is one that challenges the muscles. Workouts at the beginning are normally fruitful since they challenge the body. However, when you get stronger and still do the same exercises, you become stagnant because the workouts no longer challenge you.
The mistake people do is being in their comfort zones doing exercises their bodies are comfortable with. Though it feels good, it does not challenge the body and therefore not fruitful.
Solution: When the workout starts to get easy, it’s a sign that you should increase the intensity, reps, or sets. Increasing gradually will help you to get the best out of your workouts.
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Not drinking enough water.
Dehydration can decrease performance, inhibit weight loss, or muscle gain. When the body gets dehydrated, physical performance will decrease and your workouts will be ineffective since the body will be weak.
There are myths about dehydrating yourself in order to lose weight but these aren’t true and the opposite is actually true. Drinking water during workouts is in fact very healthy as it replenishes energy and keeps the body hydrated. You should however avoid drinking too much water as it will make you uncomfortable.
Solution: Aim to drink about 2 liters of water throughout the day. Always carry a water bottle on you to stay hydrated as you work out.
Discover the benefits of drinking water for weight loss here
We also have an article about choosing the best water bottle for the gym. get it here.
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Working out on an empty stomach.
Let us start with facts. When you work out, the body burns calories for fuel. Since these calories are got from food, working on an empty stomach can decrease performance and make workouts hell.
Workouts should be enjoyable but some people make the mistake of working out hungry which makes workouts boring and ineffective. It is like dragging a car around without fuel. Working out on an empty stomach might be the reason why you work out and diet but don’t lose weight.
Solution: Make yourself a pre-workout meal plan that will involve foods that give you energy and hydrate your body. Avoid getting so over satisfied as this will reduce the quality of your workouts too.
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Not getting enough sleep.
Sleep is very important to people who work out as it energizes the body, facilitate muscle growth, and helps the body recover. Proper sleep also keeps the hormones for hunger and stress in check.
Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest mistakes that will hinder effective workouts. Even when workouts are done right, if you don’t get quality sleep, you will never achieve quality weight loss or muscle gain.
Solution: Get quality sleep of about 8 hours to allow your body to recover, and repair itself.
Indeed you can lose weight by sleeping.Check out our article “Lose weight by sleeping rightly (Includes tips)”
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Using wrong workout gear.
Wrong workout gear is one of the mistakes you will do and will decrease the quality of your workouts.
Wearing improper gear that is either too tight, too big, or not meant for that particular workout can cause injury and discomfort during your workouts.
Substituting workout gear meant for another workout is a common mistake that will put you on the wrong side of things. Take an example of boxing shoes being used for running. You will get your shoes tone and sore feet.
Solution: Invest in your workouts and buy workout gears that match your exercises and workouts.
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Over resting between sets.
When you take long intervals between workouts, you will lose morale, the body will cool down and the workouts won’t be effective. Additionally, long rests between workouts can also prolong your workouts thus consuming your time.
When you rest for long, the tension and challenge that was being built up will drop making the workouts less challenging.
This usually happens when you are following a poor workout plan or you getting distracted.
Solution: Get an app, timer, or fitness coach that will help you manage the time you workout.
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Lifting too much weight.
Many people make the mistake of lifting too heavy weights thinking that it will deliver results.
Loading on weights the body cannot handle causes injuries. Although you need to challenge your body, lifting very heavy weights before the body gets that strength, does more harm than good.
Body injuries such as muscle tear, nose bleeding, and deformed posture are very common to people who lift very heavyweights.
Don’t get me wrong about lifting heavyweight, it’s healthy when you start from small and gradually increase if the weights become less challenging.
Solution: Start out slow and increase the load gradually as you get stronger and comfortable with the weights you lift.
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You are overworking out.
Too much of everything is always bad and this applies to exercising too. People who are obsessed with gaining muscles or losing weight often end up overworking themselves without giving the body time to recover. When the workouts are too much, you will have decreased performance due to dropped energy levels, aches and pains, and joint problems.
The body needs to rest and recover from tension and stress from workouts.
Solution: Take days off to rest and allow your body to recover. It is also recommended to get a workout plan to follow so that you don’t over-exercise during your sessions.
How many days a week should I work out to lose weight?
Whether it is bodybuilding or weight loss, try to avoid over-exercising. Have off days during which the body will rest and repair itself.
Fitness experts recommend working 5 days a week and taking the other days off for the body to repair and recover.
On a resting day, you can do some simple stretching or cardio but complete rest can also be of great advantage.
The bottom line.
Most of these mistakes are caused by having no workout plan, doing exercises that you don’t enjoy or following the wrong advice. Therefore when you are starting to workout, get advice from a trusted source. It can be a mobile app, fitness trainer, website, or magazine.
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